The Botswana Digital & Innovation Hub (BDIH) has appointed Kabo Phetlhu as its new Chief Executive Officer, effective 16 February 2026.
Phetlhu replaces Diane Mongudi, who had been acting CEO since the departure of Tshepo Tsheko in 2023, who had also been acting CEO since the departure of Alan Bashoen in 2021.
BDIH said it is pleased to welcome Phetlhu to lead the organisation as it advances its mandate to drive digital transformation, innovation and knowledge-based economic growth in Botswana.
Phetlhu brings more than two decades of experience in information technology, digital transformation and enterprise strategy, with a career spanning mining, global enterprise systems and technology consulting.
Prior to his appointment, Phetlhu served as Principal Consultant – Technology and Digital Strategy at Hub Ya She, a role he assumed in January 2025. In that capacity, he led the design and development of digital strategies, advised corporates on business model transformation, and worked on digital talent strategies aimed at bridging national skills gaps.
He also currently serves as Chairperson of the Board of Directors at Broadhurst Primary School, where he has led governance reform initiatives and overseen a P5 million infrastructure modernisation strategy.
Phetlhu is best known for his long tenure at Debswana Diamond Company, where he held several senior leadership roles over more than a decade.
Most recently, he was Head of Digital & Automation from April 2022 to January 2025, working closely with the executive committee to shape and execute the company’s digital vision. His responsibilities included developing digital business strategy and roadmaps, integrating digital transformation into enterprise planning, and overseeing digital KPIs across the organisation.
Before that, as Innovation & Digital Transformation Lead, he spearheaded Debswana’s digital optimisation and Future Smart Connected Mine initiatives, projects aimed at embedding digital technologies into mining operations, workforce models and sustainability frameworks.
His earlier roles at Debswana included Head of Information Management and Senior IM Manager, where he led data strategy, modern workplace transformation, cybersecurity frameworks and IT infrastructure modernisation.
Phetlhu also worked for De Beers Group as Global IM Manager – SAP, where he established and led a global SAP Centre of Excellence across South Africa, Canada and the UK. He consolidated outsourced SAP services across multiple regions into a unified support model and developed ERP strategies to modernise enterprise systems.
Earlier in his career, he rose through various technical and managerial roles within Debswana, starting as an IT Developer Trainee and progressing to senior leadership in business applications transformation and SAP governance.
Phetlhu holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Information Systems Engineering from the University of Manchester.
He has also completed executive development programmes at the Gordon Institute of Business Science and is currently enrolled in the Chief Operating Officer Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.